A Seneca Falls couple arrested earlier this month are facing new charges after police discovered unsecured firearms in their residence during a welfare check. Marquise Hatten, 24, and Passion Edwards, 21, were initially arrested on October 8 for obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
The arrests occurred when the Seneca Falls Police Department (SFPD) was assisting Seneca County Child Protective Services (CPS) with a court-ordered welfare check at the couple’s home. According to police, Hatten and Edwards delayed officers’ entry into the residence despite being shown a court order. When officers finally entered, Edwards became verbally aggressive, resisted arrest, and attempted to pull away. Hatten intervened, also resisting officers’ efforts.
Once both were in custody, officers and CPS personnel executed the court order and conducted a walkthrough of the home. Inside, they found two unsecured firearms in an upstairs bedroom, in violation of New York’s Safe Storage Act. The weapons, which were accessible to a 3-year-old child living in the home, were not locked or stored in a safe area.
CPS temporarily removed the child from the home for safety reasons, and Hatten and Edwards were each charged with two counts of failure to safely store firearms and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The pair were issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in Seneca Falls Town Court at a later date.
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